The principles of the current Constitution of South Australia, also known as the South Australian Constitution, which includes the rules and procedures for the government of the State of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, are set out in the ''Constitution Act 1934''. Its

long title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. The ...

is "An Act to provide for the Constitution of the State; and for other purposes". The Act provides for certain sections to be altered by the process of a Bill proposing a change passing all readings, approval by a majority of members in both houses of parliament prior to being assented to by the Governor. It also specifies those sections of the South Australian Constitution that must not only pass a majority vote in both Houses but must then be put to the people of South Australia at a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. The first Act to set out the South Australian Constitution was the Constitution Act 1856, an act of the British Parliament, which was the first Constitution in the

Australian colonies The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing pol ...

to provide

universal manhood suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the slog ...

History

Constitution Act 1856

The Constitution Act 1856, an

act of parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

of the then

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...

under

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, created South Australia as a

self-governing colony In the British Empire, a self-governing colony was a colony with an elected government in which elected rulers were able to make most decisions without referring to the colonial power with nominal control of the colony. This was in contrast to a ...

rather than being governed from Britain. The act, headed "1855–6: No. 2" and followed by the long title "An Act to establish a Constitution for South Australia, and to grant a Civil List to Her Majesty", established the Constitution of the Parliament of the Province of South Australia. It was the first Constitution in the Australian colonies to provide

manhood suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the slog ...

, that is, all male residents of the colony over 21 years of age could vote in elections. This Act provided for a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

Parliament with full authority to enact laws, apart from a few Acts requiring Royal Assent. The Legislative Council was elected by property owners only, while the 37-member House of Assembly was elected on a broad male franchise. The adoption of the "one man, one vote" principle removed the ability of voters to vote in any electorate in which they owned property. The Act also defined the rules of tenure for the parliamentarians. The Act was amended by the ''

Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894 The ''Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894'' was an Act of the Parliament of South Australia to amend the South Australian '' Constitution Act 1856'' to include women's suffrage. It was the seventh attempt to introduce voting rig ...

'' to give women the right to both vote and stand for parliament.

''Constitution Act 1934''

The ''Constitution Act 1934'' (

"An Act to provide for the Constitution of the State; and for other purposes") repealed a number of older acts, including the 1856 Act and several Constitution Amendment Acts. It has since been amended on many occasions, with the latest amendment having been published on 4 November 2021.

2013 amendment to recognise Aboriginal peoples

In March 2013 an amendment was introduced to include a statement of recognition of

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

, via the ''Constitution (Recognition of Aboriginal Peoples) Amendment Act 2013''. Wording was included in Part 1 includes:

Description of current Act

As of version Version: 4.11.2021: The Act's long title remains "An Act to provide for the Constitution of the State; and for other purposes". It includes a statement of recognition of

in Part 1, while other parts lay out the constitution of and procedures for the election of the various levels of government in South Australia, and also deals with the tenure of judges. The Act provides for certain sections to be altered by the process of a Bill proposing a change passing all readings, approval by a majority of members in both houses of parliament prior to being assented to by the Governor. It also specifies those sections of the South Australian Constitution that must not only pass a majority vote in both Houses but must then be put to the people of South Australia at a

References

External links

''Constitution Act 1934''
Version: 4.11.2021 {{Australia topic, title=

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

s of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, prefix=Constitution of, VI=Victoria, exclude-ext=y, group1=Commonwealth, list1=

, group5=External territories, list5=

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

South Australia law 1934 in Australian law